[The intraarticular fracture of the distal end of the tibia as a prognostic criterion (author's transl)].

Ankle fractures with injuries of the distal articular surface of the tibia have particularly unfavourable results. A follow-up of 103 cases shows, that even small marginal fragments of the lip of tibia produce posttraumatic athrosis. Results become statistically worse when the fragment is about 1/5 of the joint surface. Further there is a clear relationship between the number of the single injuries and the incidence of posttraumatic arthrosis. Thus the prognosis of ankle fractures is better described by the genetic classification of Lauge-Hansen than by the classification of Weber,